Michigan environment

A University of Michigan researcher says the environmental benefits of biofuels are exaggerated, so much so that he says burning fossil fuels is better. On our Tuesday environmental segment, a biofuels industry spokesman responds.

A bi-national group of Great Lakes mayors wants its governors and premiers to reverse a decision to allow Waukesha Wisconsin to draw water from Lake Michigan. We review that environmental story and others coming up on Current State’s Great Lakes Month in Review.

States and Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway invest millions of dollars to track and control invasive species. A new tool developed by the Great Lakes Commission promises to make that task a little easier. Current State’s Kevin Lavery reports.

How might the state recycle more home construction materials, especially given the number of blighted homes here? Two Spartans, a researcher and a faculty member, discuss the challenges and benefits of a stronger effort.

The Kirtland’s Warbler is an icon of northern Michigan. With a brilliant yellow breast and distinctive song, the bird makes its home in young jack pine trees. Once on the verge of extinction, a long-running conservation program is helping to restore the Kirtland’s Warbler population. Current State’s Kevin Lavery takes us up north in search of this endangered yet beloved bird.

A former oil company executive is awaiting confirmation by the Michigan Senate to become the state’s next director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and an assessment of Enbridge Energy’s controversial Line 5 at the Mackinac Straits is in the works. We talk with Great Lakes environmental reporter Gary Wilson for our Environment Month in Review.

Around the country, many growers contend with too few bees for pollinating their crops. An MSU scholar has been working on ways to get both wild bees and human-managed honeybees to be more effective. We learn more with Entomology professor and researcher Rufus Isaacs.

All eight of the Great Lakes states have given their blessing to the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin to tap Lake Michigan for it's water supply. We talk with Great Lake commentator Gary Wilson and Grant Trigger, Michigan's representative to the talks.